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The idea for the Effective Measures in Injury Prevention (EMIP) database originated from the work of injury practitioners and experts in the field. They identified the need to build capacity among those working in injury prevention by providing relevant and accessible information on current knowledge about the effectiveness of preventive measures to enhance decision making in injury prevention.
 EMIP definitions of good practice
Those responsible for deciding on actions and allocating resources to the injury issue have many possible preventive measures and intervention strategies to choose from. Decision-making is further challenged by the fact that many intervention strategies have had different levels of evaluation of their effectiveness (do they work?) and their application to the European setting. As a result they have varying levels of evidence to support them.
EMIP is an attempt to make it easier for decision makers (e.g., policy-makers and health professionals) to assess the level of evidence available for a particular measure or strategy and ascertain whether experts have determined whether it has met the criteria to be included as an evidenced good practice.
By browsing the database, users have access to statements that provide evidence on prevention measures in injury prevention (e.g. legislation, education), background documents upon which these evidence statements are based and an indication on whether experts have judged the measure or strategy to have adequate evidence to be recommended as a good practice. In the context of EMIP a good practice is defined as a measure or strategy that has been evaluated by experts as part of the EMIP assessment process and found to meet the following criteria:
- A preventive measure/intervention strategy that has been evaluated and found to be effective in reducing injuries (either through a systematic review or at least one rigorous evaluation) OR
- A preventive measure/intervention strategy where rigorous evaluation is difficult but expert opinion supports the practice and data suggest it is an effective strategy (e.g., use of personal floatation devices to prevent drowning) OR
- A preventive measure/intervention strategy where rigorous evaluation is difficult but expert opinion supports the practice and there is a clear link between the measure/strategy and reduced risk but a less clear link between the measure/strategy and reduced injuries (e.g., secure storage of poisonings) AND
- The preventive measure/intervention strategy in question has been implemented in a real world setting so that the practicality of the intervention has also been examined.
Target audience
The intended audiences for the EMIP database are professionals, i.e. those who need information about the effectiveness of preventive measures and intervention strategies such as researchers, public health professionals and policy-makers and programme developers at national and local level in Europe. As such it was not specifically designed for use by consumers.
Scope
The scope of EMIP is all injuries (intentional and unintentional) and all ages. Information in the database is primarily based on existing reviews with a focus on systematic reviews. If high quality reviews are not available, other literature including original articles have been reviewed. Evidence statements are developed and reviewed by experts from the appropriate area of the injury field prior to being added to the database.
Launch
While EMIP will be officially launched at the end of 2008, building and filling the database is a continuous process as new topics and new research becomes available. The topics covered in the initial launch will include child safety, sport safety, vulnerable road users, and safety for seniors.
EuroSafe, in partnership with the Dutch Consumer Safety Institute has developed the database on Effective Measures in Injury Prevention (EMIP) as part of the European Commission funded and EuroSafe led initiative SafeStrat.
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